by Bob Fromer
Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada: July 18 -- Whatever happens
during the playoffs at the ISF Women's World Softball Championships here in Whitehorse later this week, Japan is currently the world's best softball team and probably has been since they won the sport's final Olympic title in Beijing in 2008.
The United States beat Japan at the last World Championships in Venezuela in 2010, and again at the World Cup of Softball in Oklahoma City in 2011, and Team USA, like the current New York Yankees, can always turn games around, even against Japan, with the three-run homer.
But no one plays quite like the Japanese, who are to softball what Barcelona is to football. The Japanese style is uniquely their own, and it raises the game to a kind of art form. The style is based on speed, putting the ball in play and pressuring the opponent into mistakes, backed up by tremendous defence and pitching that is always competent and becomes rather more than that when 2008 Olympic heroine Yukiko Ueno happens to be pitching (yesterday, Ueno threw a 10-inning no-hitter against Chinese Taipei).
Every Japanese at-bat puts pressure on the opposition; every Japanese baserunner strikes fear in the hearts of the defenders. The Japanese have so many ways to move those runners around the bases, and eventually score them.
But as we saw with Barcelona earlier this year, art doesn't always produce victory, and Japan, too, can be vulnerable. That point was almost proved early this morning when, in a make-up game rained out last night, Italy took the Japanese to extra innings with the score at 3-3 before Japan exploited the tie-break to race away to a 6-3 win in the eighth inning.
So the GB Women's Fastpitch Team had hopes coming into this afternoon's game against Japan of pushing them the way GB had pushed Canada, and maybe even achieving an upset.
What happened instead was that GB was put to the sword in the classic Japanese manner, and while never overwhelmed, still finished on the wrong end of a 7-0 scoreline in a game that ended when Japan scored that seventh run with two out in the bottom of the fifth inning.
Initial parity
Japan's starting pitcher, Mika Someya, was nothing special, but there may have been an intimidation factor involved when GB went down in order in the top of the first inning, with two strikeouts.
Japan, by contrast, put pressure on GB pitcher Stacie Townsend and the GB defence from the start. There was one out when Yukina Seki walked and then Misato Kawano placed a perfect bunt base hit.
But Stacie escaped that particular jam by striking out catcher Yukiyo Mine and getting Mika Suzuki on a little nubber in front of home plate; catcher Leah English threw Suzuki out at first.
Breakthrough
Morgan Parkerson walked to open the GB second inning, but was immediately erased when Naomi Jones bounced into a 6-4-3 double play and Sarah Jones struck out to end the inning -- one of nine strikeouts chalked up in five innings by Japanese starter Someya and by Miho Kurita, who pitched the fourth and fifth innings for Japan.
The Japanese breakthrough -- a single run -- came in the bottom of the second inning. Haruna Sakamoto opened with a double rifled just fair down the third base line, and Yumi Iwabuchi sacrificed her to third. A sacrifice fly to centre field by Maki Furuta brought in the run.
Breakout
GB's only hit in the ball game came in the top of the third inning when, with one out, Jess Legendre hit a bouncer in the hole between third and short. Shortstop Rei Nishiyama got to the ball, but Jess -- even on her bad knee -- just beat the throw. But she was left stranded on first as Leah English struck out and Kristi Yoshizawa bounced out to third.
In the bottom of the third, the Japanese upped the pressure and broke the game open.
Misato Kawano singled up the middle with one out, then Yukiyo Mine pushed a single into left field, sending Kawano to third. When GB left fielder Sara Robb made the mistake of throwing to third, Mine of course took second base. But the next play was probably the difference in the game. Mika Suzuki hit a soft line drive in the direction of second base, Sarah Jones charged in and had the ball in her glove at shoetop level, but couldn't hold it. The baserunners on second and third weren't able to advance because of the possible catch, but now the bases were loaded.
For a moment, it looked like GB might escape the worst. Stacie Townsend got Haruna Sakamoto to hit a ground ball to Kristi Yoshizawa at third and Kristi threw home for the force out at the plate and the second out of the inning. One more out to go.
But four Japanese runs had scored before the third out finally came. Yumi Iwabuchi pushed a single into right field, driving in two and sending Sakamoto to third. Sakamoto scored on a change-up wild pitch, then Maki Furuta walked, and a delayed steal of home by Iwabuchi after Furuta got into a rundown between first and second base and drew a GB throwing error made the score 5-1. Not one ball in the inning was hit hard, but speed and baserunners put on the pressure and made the difference.
The finale
With GB determined to have a real go at Australia in their final pool game tomorrow -- and possibly final game of the World Championships -- Stacie Townsend came out after the third inning and GB Under-19 pitcher Carling Hare came in.
And Carling threw two extremely good innings, but the Japanese still managed to score a single run in each of them.
In the fourth inning, a walk, a fielder's choice, a stolen base and then a two-out double to centre field by Yukiyo Mine produced the run.
In the fifth inning, a leadoff single and a groundout put Haruna Sakamoto on second base. Carling struck out Maki Furuta for the second out, but pinch-hitter Mari Soma dropped a little single into left field, driving in Sakamoto and ending the game at 7-0 on the mercy rule.
Playoff push
Meanwhile, things are getting tense -- and a little bizarre -- in the push for playoff places in Pools A and B, where four out of eight teams advance.
In Pool A, the unbeaten USA, plus the Netherlands and China, with only one loss so far, will claim three of the four playoff places, though China was amazingly held scoreless for seven innings today by minnows Argentina, and would have lost but for a game-saving catch by their third base player in the bottom of the seventh inning. Venezuela was favoured for fourth place, but amazingly blew a 6-0 lead over Puerto Rico after a rain delay yesterday, losing 9-6, and that put Puerto Rico in line for the last playoff place. Until, that is, Puerto Rico blew a 5-0 lead of their own this morning and lost 6-5 to previously winless South Africa. Venezuela can now pip Puerto Rico at the post, but may have to beat China to do it.
In Pool B, the unbeaten Japanese, plus Australia and Canada with one loss each, will take the top three spots. Italy looks like finishing fourth, but should GB upset Australia tomorrow, there is one scenario in which GB, Italy and New Zealand could each finish with a 3-4 record. Since GB has lost to both those teams, it won't be GB advancing.
But there is a second scenario that would see GB, Italy and Chinese Taipei finish on 3-4, and in that scenario GB might just have a chance.
